Governor Bullock Announces Montana’s Unemployment Rate Falls to 3.8%

Text/HTML

MONTANA – Governor Steve Bullock today announced Montana’s unemployment rate dropped again for the second straight month, down to 3.8% for the month of June. The U.S. unemployment rate rose to 4.0% in June.

Montana’s economy remains strong as we continue to ensure the future well-being of Montana families, said Governor Bullock. “The key to this continued economic growth and prosperity is a trained and talented workforce, which we are bolstering through education and workforce initiatives, apprenticeships, and other pathways to good-paying jobs.”

Payroll employment posted a gain of 400 jobs despite a loss of nearly 800 jobs in federal government employment over the month. Retail trade and local government posted the largest over-the-month growth. Total employment levels posted insignificant changes over the last month.

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased by 0.1% in June with broad-based price increases across many goods. Over the last 12 months, inflation has been accelerating, with an increase of 2.9% in the CPI-U. The index for all items less food and energy, also called core inflation, increased 0.2% in June, with a change of 2.3% over the last year.

###

** Unemployment figures are seasonally-adjusted. Seasonally-adjusted numbers remove the effects of events that follow a more or less regular month-to-month pattern each year. These adjustments make non-seasonal patterns easier to identify. The margin of error for the unemployment rate is plus or minus 0.5 percentage points at the 90 percent confidence level. All questions relating to the calculation of unemployment rates should be directed to the Montana Department of Labor & Industry’s Research and Analysis Bureau at 406-444-4100.

The next Labor Situation Report for the month of July 2018 will be released on Friday, August 17, 2018.

****** INFORMATION AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET ******

Visit our website at www.lmi.mt.gov for additional information and analysis, including industry employment levels, background on the unemployment rate, and wage rates by occupation. This month’s Economy at a Glance discusses wage growth in Montana.

****** COUNTY UNEMPLOYMENT RATES ******

The unemployment rate and ranking for each of Montana’s 56 counties is provided below for your convenience. County unemployment rates and employment levels are not seasonally adjusted and should be compared to the unadjusted statewide unemployment rate of 3.5%.

Rank

County

Current

Unemployment

Rate

Change

over Year

Current

Employment

Job Change

from Last Year

1

Daniels

1.8

-0.3

858

-37

1

Fallon

1.8

-1.1

1,616

-139

3

McCone

1.9

-0.2

939

-73

4

Carter

2.1

-0.4

638

-26

5

Gallatin

2.3

-0.3

64,744

1,276

6

Sheridan

2.4

-0.2

1,748

-113

7

Judith Basin

2.5

-1.1

848

-46

8

Powder River

2.6

0.4

963

-56

9

Liberty

2.8

-0.5

912

-35

10

Beaverhead

2.9

0

4,931

-99

10

Chouteau

2.9

-0.5

2,404

-79

10

Sweet Grass

2.9

0

1,756

-14

10

Valley

2.9

-0.2

3,979

-158

14

Garfield

3

0.2

723

-31

14

Petroleum

3

-0.2

256

-12

14

Teton

3

-0.5

2,610

-113

17

Carbon

3.1

-0.5

5,219

-35

17

Dawson

3.1

-0.4

4,362

-142

17

Missoula

3.1

-0.4

60,599

-54

17

Park

3.1

-0.2

8,966

155

17

Stillwater

3.1

-0.7

4,619

-60

17

Toole

3.1

-0.1

2,025

-138

17

Treasure

3.1

-0.7

312

-21

24

Custer

3.2

0.1

5,787

-314

24

Fergus

3.2

-0.2

5,480

-124

26

Lewis and Clark

3.3

-0.1

33,517

-670

27

Cascade

3.4

-0.5

36,752

-52

27

Deer Lodge

3.4

-0.1

4,964

-89

27

Yellowstone

3.4

-0.4

79,420

349

30

Broadwater

3.5

-0.9

2,448

-32

30

Madison

3.5

-1

3,686

-332

30

Richland

3.5

-0.6

5,423

-421

33

Hill

3.6

-0.5

7,574

110

34

Jefferson

3.7

-0.4

13,011

-92

34

Powell

3.7

-0.2

2,769

155

34

Ravalli

3.7

-0.7

19,457

191

37

Lake

3.8

-0.4

13,289

281

37

Meagher

3.8

-0.6

844

-15

39

Silver Bow

3.9

-0.3

461

-53

40

Wibaux

4

0.1

19,344

311

41

Phillips

4.1

0

2,261

-103

41

Prairie

4.1

0.1

2,201

-41

43

Blaine

4.2

0.4

2,742

-78

43

Flathead

4.2

-0.5

4,359

-134

45

Musselshell

>4.4

-0.2

356

-14

45

Pondera

4.4

0.3

1,784

-90

47

Granite

4.7

-0.5

4,008

-140

47

Wheatland

4.7

0.3

45,015

978

49

Golden Valley

4.8

-0.1

823

-39

50

Roosevelt

5.1

-0.3

740

-50

50

Rosebud

5.1

0.3

4,579

38

52

Sanders

5.4

-0.9

1,489

21

53

Mineral

6.2

0.3

1,552

-40

54

Lincoln

6.7

-1.2

7,273

-1

55

Glacier

8

-0.8

5,212

-145

56

Big Horn

9.4

-6.1

4,664

9

****** RESERVATION UNEMPLOYMENT RATES ******

The unemployment rate and ranking for each of Montana’s seven reservations is provided below. Reservation unemployment rates and employment levels are not seasonally adjusted and should be compared to the unadjusted statewide unemployment rate of 3.5%. Reservation areas overlap with county areas, meaning that unemployed individuals living on a reservation will be included in both the reservation and county totals.